In Life and In Death
by reaper with no name
Summary: Tigatron and Airazor are dead. But sometimes, love transcends death.
1. Chapter 1

And it was over.

Even with our combined might and the power of the Vok at our fingertips, we could not stop the Nemesis. The end was swift, and yet it seemed to take decacycles.

I was falling now; falling through a pitch-black pit. But despite the darkness I could still somehow see her, falling right beside me.

We called out each other's names and reached, willing the distance between us to decrease. Somehow, it worked, for our hands met.

As our fingers interlocked, the walls of the pit were bathed in light, as images from our lives played out before us.

"In that case, the lady shall ride a tiger."

"It wouldn't hurt to visit us now and then, would it?"

"Wherever we go, my spark will find yours!"

"And mine yours!"

We were such fools back then. We let our own fears and insecurities prevent us from embracing the most beautiful thing we had ever known until it was almost too late. But none of that mattered now.

As suddenly as the images had begun, they ended, and the pit once again became dark.

She pulled me in close. Hawks were not meant for the night.

"No matter what happens, we will remain together," I assured her.

She was about to respond when something caught her optic below us. "Look," she pointed.

Below us, at the bottom of what had seemed to be an endless shaft, was a light. And it was rapidly growing larger as we fell towards it. It quickly became blinding.

Suddenly, we were no longer falling, but standing. Everything around us was white. I looked to Airazor. She was less uneasy than she was before, but I could still feel her worry as if it were my own. Indeed, my fears did mirror her own.

"Are these the ones?" came a booming voice. Airazor and I both looked around feverishly, our optics darting this way and that, searching for the source of the voice. We found only white. Indeed, the voice appeared to be coming from all around us.

"Yes. These are the heroes," came a slippery, almost Predacon-like voice. Two small missiles sprouted from Airazor's forearm, and my fingers inched towards the gun at my side.

As if sensing our discomfort, there came a gentle female voice. "Do not be afraid."

"We are not your enemy," a poorly-synthesized mechanical voice interjected.

"No one will harm you now," a high-pitched male voice assured us.

"We welcome you…" a charming and polite male voice said, "…To eternity."

I don't remember what happened after that. The next thing I knew, I awoke in a forest meadow in beast mode. Something stirred against my chest, and when I looked I discovered a familiar hawk nestled comfortably against me. I smiled and held her close to me with my paws. It had been so long since I had the chance to do this.

I tried to enjoy the moment and scenery for as long as I could, but soon my thoughts were taken over by the events that had transpired. We had died. We should have been sent to the Matrix. Was this the Matrix? It was so unlike everything I had imagined. And who were those voices? I had to know.

I gently nudged Airazor with my nose. She stirred and opened her optics.

"Tigatron?"

"Yes, I'm here."

She surveyed her surroundings. "What is this place?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I awoke here too. I don't remember what happened after those voices."

She smiled as well as a hawk beak could manage. "Then that makes two of us."

I stood up and maximized. "Come." I held out my hand to her. "I detect no energon here."

She held out her wing and I carefully helped her up. She maximized, and the two of us set off through the forested landscape.

I don't know how long we walked. We had no idea where we were going. We were driven on by our curiosity, and sustained by the beauty around us. Soon her hand found mine, and I found myself no longer caring whether or not we reached our destination (wherever that was). I would not have minded if the two of us walked together like that forever.

"…Say, Tigatron?" Airazor asked uncertainly.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Does this place seem…_familiar_ to you?"

I nodded. It was a thought that had been building at the back of my mind for some time now. This place _was_ familiar. Why was that? Had I been here before? Why couldn't I place it?

And then I saw it. On a tree mere feet from us was a symbol I could never forget.

She saw it at the same time I did and gasped. There was no time for thought. No time for plans. There was only time for action.

I charged at Airazor and jumped as far as I could, knocking her off her feet. As we hit the ground a distance away, I covered Airazor with my body, trying to protect her from the trap I knew was about to activate.

It never did.

After a tense moment of silence, I opened my optics to find her staring at me with fear in hers. I was nearly overcome by a sudden desire to kiss her, but I squelched it. This was no time for that.

"Tigatron…" she whispered as our optics met.

"We should move, while we still can," I said as I stood, helping her up as I did so. "It is still dangerous here."

She nodded and began retreating from the area. I followed closely, but made sure to keep myself between her and the tree in question at all times. I was still not convinced that the trap would not spring.

When we were far enough away for safety, we stopped to collect our wits.

"Are you damaged?" I asked, worried that I had hurt her when I jumped into her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you. But why didn't the trap activate?"

"And why are those symbols here?" I added.

"This place is just like the floating island."

My optics widened. "No…This place isn't _like_ the floating island…It _is_ the floating island!"


	2. Chapter 2

"But how?" Airazor asked. "It was destroyed. And why isn't the central tower anywhere to be found?"

"I don't know," I answered. "But this is why we found it familiar. This is why the trap symbols are here. There is no other explanation."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Same as before. We still have just as many unanswered questions. More, even. We need to find the answers. And that means getting off this island."

She nodded and the two of us carried on, avoiding any trap symbols we came across. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally came to the edge. Any doubts that we were on the floating island were washed away when we peered over the side.

"Hmm…" Airazor put her hands on her hips. "I don't see an escalator. Are you up for a ride?"

"Can you do it?"

"I'll manage. Now let's go, you scaredy cat."

I took her hands and she began to fly. I could see it was difficult for her, but she kept a smile the whole time. And it was an amazing feeling, to fly.

As we descended, I allowed myself to drown in the beauty of the sky and the air around us.

"What is that?!" Airazor cried out. I looked up at her, and followed her gaze downward to the valley below us.

The valley in flames.

"A battle," I responded. "Take us down."

We touched down near the center of the valley. I immediately set about extinguishing the fires. But to my surprise, they did not go out. And as the minutes passed, I also discovered that they did not spread or burn out. It was as if they always had been and always would be burning. I could not understand it.

"Tigatron, over here!" came Airazor's voice.

I ran towards her, dodging burning trees and vegetation. I arrived just in time to see a battered but familiar Maximal drive his sword into Terrorsaur's chest.

"Dinobot!" I couldn't believe it. Airazor seemed just as shocked as I was.

He turned to look at us. "Ah, so you've finally arrived." He looked back to Terrorsaur. "And that means…Back to the Inferno with you!"

With that, he ripped his sword out of the Predacon's body, tearing Terrorsaur open. The Predacon's screeches of agony were short-lived, however, for almost immediately his body began to fade away into nothing. Within moments he was gone.

"Dinobot, what's going on? Where are we?" Airazor asked with confusion as the flames finally began to die down.

"I would think that much to be obvious," Dinobot sneered. "This is the Matrix, where all are one."

"This is the Matrix?" I asked incredulously. "Who were those voices we heard?"

"The welcoming committee."

"The what?" Airazor echoed.

Dinobot snarled. "Someone has to do it. And someone also has to serve as a guide for the newly departed. In this case, I was unfortunate enough to be chosen."

I suspected the last part to be a lie. With the dead far outnumbering the living at any given time, it seemed unlikely that there would be a shortage of guides. Most likely, Dinobot had volunteered. However, I decided not to voice this theory.

"Why is this place so devastated? And what was Terrorsaur doing here?" I queried.

"The Matrix…Is what we make it," Dinobot explained. "This is my contribution. A battlefield where one can engage in eternal combat with anyone they wish to summon from the pit. It is…Perfect."

Ah, yes. It all made sense now. Dinobot lived for battle. It was only natural that it would dominate his afterlife as well.

"Wait!" Airazor interjected. "What about Optimus? And the others?"

Of course! How could I have forgotten?! We had failed! We might have slowed him, but Megatron was still on his way to the Ark with the Nemesis!

Noting our expressions, Dinobot reassured us. "There is…Nothing to fear. The cards have already been dealt. It is now only a matter of watching the pieces fall into place. Come. I will show you."

Dinobot snapped his fingers, and the three of us were suddenly in a metallic metropolis. It looked exactly like the images of Cybertron the other Maximals had shown me.

"This is where most Cybertronians in the Matrix congregate," Dinobot continued, "For this is what most of them see as 'paradise'. "

Dinobot led us through the city. Airazor and I held hands to avoid being separated as countless transformers shuffled past us. Finally, we reached the edge, and there on a large monitor screen was the clone of Dinobot betraying Megatron.

"It seems he will be joining us soon," Dinobot remarked. "I will have to test his mettle when he arrives."

The three of us watched as events unfolded that ultimately led to Megatron's defeat.

"As you can see," Dinobot stated, "Your sacrifice was not in vain. All is as it should be. In time, all will one day join the Matrix, and then we shall see our comrades again."

"How long?" I wondered aloud. I wished to see them, and yet at the same time I wished nothing but long lives for all of them.

"Not long," Dinobot answered. "For us, at least. You will find that time has little meaning here. And in the meantime, you may watch them as much as you desire here."

"All right, well now that that's settled, what is the floating island doing here?" Airazor asked.

Dinobot's mouth contorted into a wicked grin. "That…Is your creation."

"What?!" we both exclaimed.

"Yes. As I told you, the Matrix is formed by us. We each create our own paradise. Yours is the one we found on that floating island…Without the weapons and traps, of course." Dinobot scratched his chin. "Hmm…In fact, I'd be willing to wager that the other Cybertronians are discovering it right now."

"What do you mean 'discovering'?" I questioned.

"Just as you could visit my realm, they can visit yours. In fact, it is the first such organic paradise I am aware of. Let us go see how they are taking it."

"Well, this promises to be interesting, at the very least," Airazor commented as we were transported back to the floating island. But this time, there was no anxiety or worry for Airazor and I. We knew everything was right with ourselves, our friends, and the universe. We smiled when we saw dozens of Cybertronian mouths agape in awe as they took in the sight of what we had created. Yes, it seemed they would love it as much as we did.

"It seems that no one has entered the southern part of the island," Dinobot interrupted. "It would appear that they wish to leave you some privacy."

"How thoughtful of them. I wonder who's responsible for that," Airazor said, looking at Dinobot.

He scowled. "I must be going. That clone of mine has arrived, and I will not allow anyone to take away the privilege that is rightfully mine! I will return to check on you two later."

"Thank you, Dinobot," I said.

"And thank you for volunteering to be our guide," Airazor added.

Dinobot growled before turning and transforming to beast mode. A second later, he had vanished.

Airazor and I turned to each other.

"So," I asked. "What would you like to do now?"

She pretended to think about it for a moment. "Hmm…Well, we could explore the southern part of the island like Dinobot suggested. And we could spend some time alone together…Away from prying optics."

I smiled. "Now that sounds like a prime idea. After you, my lady."

With joined hands, the two of us marched forward into the future…In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in life and in death…Forevermore.


End file.
